Wolff in comfort zone

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, January 21, 2005

But there was a time when the sophomore guard on the UConn women's basketball team couldn't rely on her rock.

Having missed the majority of the past two seasons with injuries - multiple stress fractures in her left foot in the 2002-03 season and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee last season - basketball hardly felt comfortable to Wolff.

"It felt so foreign at first to play even in pick-up games," Wolff said, "just because when I came back last year, I wasn't back for really long enough to even feel I was used to it again. I think right now, I'm past that point. It's far enough into the season where I definitely feel comfortable playing again."

That comfort level helped steady the Huskies' offense during their recent three-game winning streak, which they look to extend today against Seton Hall at the Hartford Civic Center at 2 p.m.

"I think she's given us a little bit if stability out there handling the ball, been pretty steady defensively," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Obviously she can do some things the other guys can't do. So from that standpoint, I think it's an easy call to have her in there."

Wolff played 37 minutes, a career-high, in Monday's 73-57 win against No. 15 Texas. She played 30 or more minutes in three of the past four games.

Playing Wolff, a redshirt sophomore, wasn't always a good option this season.

As recent as last month, Wolff played a combined 12 minutes against Hartford, Arizona State and Colorado State. She totaled three points on 1-of-3 shooting and one assist in all three games combined.

"There's no reason I should have been playing more than that in those other games," Wolff admitted. "I was practicing terribly. I was turning the ball over all the time. I think I just settled down after that."

Wolff went from being a starter to sparsely playing off the bench.

Her teammates, however, only could offer so much support.

While they were happy to see Wolff recover from her two injuries just to play, they were unable to instill the confidence she needed in herself to warrant more playing time.

"That kind of stuff, you've got to work yourself out of," forward Barbara Turner said. "You can talk to the person as much as you want, but until you actually start to get out there and do the things that coach wants you to do ... you'll continue to be in that funk. Nicole's worked herself out of that funk."

Wolff regained her spot in the starting lineup. She started the four games and may have locked up the role the rest of the season.

"This has been really tough for me so far," Wolff said. "Up and down and playing a lot at the beginning and not a lot and now back to playing more."

Now that Wolff has established herself in the playing rotation, Auriemma is looking for more offensive production out of the guard.

Wolff is averaging just 3.7 points this season, hardly resembling the offensive player that scored 2,164 points in high school at Walpole High and Milton Academy in Massachusetts.

After netting a season-high 18 points against George Mason, Wolff is averaging just 2.3 points over the next seven games.

The biggest reason for Wolff's inept scoring is her lack of shooting. She is averaging just 3.5 attempts a game. She also has missed 12 consecutive 3-pointers, dating back to the first half of the George Mason game on Dec. 27.

"I want her to make more shots; I want her to be more involved in our offense," Auriemma said. "We're not a team that's averaging 95 points a game and just needs a stopper. The more shooters, the more scorers we can get, the better off we're going to be."

The most field goals Wolff attempted this season are seven in the season opener against Buffalo. Since then, she attempted more than five shots in just four other games.

"I need to start shooting more when I'm open, but I don't know what it is," said Wolff, a 41.5-percent shooter. "I think maybe it's I need to relax during the game and shoot instead of being maybe tense I get the ball because I know I haven't made any in a while. Maybe I'm thinking about that too much."

Other than the increased playing time, there is little tangible evidence to show Wolff's improvement in the past month.

"I understand the contributions that she's making and that's why she's out there all the time," Auriemma said. "But I think at some point, I'd like to see her make some offensive and defensive contributions that actually show up in the box score because I think that would be more indicative of the kind of player that she is."